


best friends

by hyuckleberries



Category: THE9 (Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:40:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27734713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyuckleberries/pseuds/hyuckleberries
Summary: keran and linfan have lived together for years, never apart for more than a few days. however, after they are forced to say goodbye at a chinese survival show, keran finds herself missing her best friend more than she would have expected.*also cross posting on wp
Relationships: Lin Fan | Marco/Lu Keran
Kudos: 8





	1. one.

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this only because i was really into qcyn2 when the show was airing but i gradually lost interest after the9 debuted and i missed keran and linfan interactions :( i'll still try my best to finish this but the updates might be really slow!

the day didn't seem to be going well for keran at all.

firstly, she had been waken by shuxin and sun rui singing (shouting) the theme song into the speakers in the early morning when she had just dozed off after a long practice session.

secondly, she had been annoyed by linfan clinging onto lingzi more than necessary. keran thought it was rude to bother her when she had to practice, especially since the mentors had told them they needed to work harder. she would never admit she was more than slightly annoyed at linfan for choosing to complain to lingzi when they shared a dorm.

thirdly, she had gotten into an argument with nine one when she had accidently left a beauty blender she had borrowed from her on the table and it had dried, making it unusable.

keran didn't want to speak to either nine one or linfan, and hazel had left soon after the first ranking eliminations. that left her with no one, so she curled up in her bed, glancing at nine one who was immersed in a book.

she couldn't bring herself to fall asleep, no matter how much she tossed and turned in bed. even after all the lights had been turned off, she glanced at linfan's peaceful figure opposite her bed and bit her lip.

deciding it was no use to lie in bed with no company but her own thoughts, keran silently climbed down and slipped out of the dorm room. despite her attempt to not wake her roommates up, a pair of eyes were watching her as she closed the door.

the building was quiet and dark- it was almost 5 and even hardworking trainees like yuxin and kiki had already went back to their rooms to rest. she turned on the lights in one of the empty practice rooms and began to practice.

however, her attempt to practice the dance was futile as keran soon found herself forgetting steps or her positions, as she had barely slept an hour.

she sighed and stepped out to the balcony, gazing at the sun that was slowly peeking out, illuminating the building with a soft golden glow.

keran had never felt so hopeless before- she wondered what she was doing here. she didn't seem to be improving, and her ranking was dropping. maybe she wasn't ready to debut.

her vision blurred, and she tried to blink the tears away but they just kept falling. she sniffed and sat down, crying into her sweatpants. keran hated how she felt, hated herself for being lonely. she continued crying until a tissue was pressed into her hands and a comforting hand patted her back.

keran leaned into the person's embrace, the familar grapefruit scent surrounding her as she tried to stop crying. she didn't even have to look up to know who it was.

they sat like that for a while, keran finding it quite comforting that there was someone to be there for her when she was down. linfan always knew what to do when she was down, even if she was giggly and childish sometimes.

not surprisingly, it was linfan who spoke first. "are you angry at me?" she asked softly. keran shook her head as she dried her tears, leaning on linfan as the younger held her protectively.

she had been angry earlier, but her anger soon turned into guilt. linfan had always been shy with strangers, so for her to make new friends like lingzi, xinyi and zihan and open up to them meant that she trusted them a lot. keran was ashamed of herself for wanting linfan to rely on her as much as she did.

"i'm sorry," keran mumbled, closing her eyes as tiredness took over. she had drifted off to sleep before she could hear linfan's reply.


	2. two.

keran woke up nestled in her own bed, feeling much better after getting a few hours of sleep. the dorm was silent, so she sat up in confusion, only to realise both nine one and linfan's beds were empty.

hastily searching for her phone, she found it tucked neatly beside her pillow and switched it on to find that it was 2 in the afternoon.

"oh my god." keran leapt out of the bed with her phone in hand as she quickly slipped on her training shoes before running towards the practice rooms. she was an hour late for the dance practice session with mentor lisa.

by the time she opened the door of the practice room, keran's face was red from running and she was panting. everyone turned to look at her, faces full of confusion.

keyin was the first to speak up. "hey, aren't you supposed to be resting? linfan said you were sick." she glanced at how red keran's face was, furrowing her eyebrows in worry. she had mistaken it as keran being feverish.

"you should go back and rest," xinwen chimed in. keran wanted to argue, but before she could open her mouth, someone had hugged her from behind and dragged her out of the room.

"why did you tell them i was sick?" she asked, annoyed. "and why didn't you wake me up?"

linfan pouted, and the sight of it was enough to make keran's frown fade. "you were so tired and overworked, i thought you needed some rest."

keran sighed, pulling linfan to the side as her teammates filed out of the room after the lesson. "okay, fine. lets go back to the dorms."

she waved goodbye to her concerned teammates before turning back to linfan, who seemed hesitant. "actually, i was going to eat lunch with lingzi and-"

keran's frown returned and she interrupted the younger, "you should take care of your ran-mei, right?"

linfan pursed her lips, but she grabbed hold of keran's hands and began walking towards the direction of their dorm. keran found a smile finding its way onto her face as she followed her.

when they returned to the dorms, nine one was seated at her table touching up her makeup. she turned to wave at linfan, but didn't spare a glance at keran.

keran, herself being a petty person, decided to ignore nine one as well, sitting down at her table to apply makeup for the filming later.

linfan was aware of the tension between her two roommates as she sat down on her chair, looking at the both of them curiously. the room would usually be noisy as nine one and keran liked to bicker amongst themselves about anything. sometimes linfan even felt left out from how close these two were.

now, the room was eerily silent as the two girls opposite her applied makeup. linfan scrunched up her nose, wondering what had happened. just then, nine one glanced over at keran, her face albeit apologetic. when keran reached out for her beauty blender, nine one quickly turned back to her own mirror.

linfan smiled before innocently asking, "nine one, why do you keep looking at keke?"

keran began laughing as nine one's face turned red from embarrassment, her eyes crinkling up cutely to form cresents. linfan felt her heart skip a beat and she placed a hand on her chest, confused. why did the older suddenly look so pretty laughing?

"jeez, linfan, save me some face," nine one grumbled, but she was smiling. linfan was glad she could help the two close friends make up, and seeing the wide smile on keran's face made her smile even more. after all, as long keran was happy, she would be too.


	3. three.

she didn't know when linfan had found the time to make friends. ever since the show had started, her days were packed with filming, practicing and practicing until she thought she might pass out.

keran had initally been the one to push linfan to make friends, as the younger was unusually shy with the trainees, unlike her usual extroverted self. however, she hadn't expected linfan to form her own group of friends, with lingzi, xinyi and zihan.

if she was honest with herself, she felt left out. seeing her best friend joke around so easily with them made her feel like she wasn't needed. linfan could get along easily with anyone- a few months into the show, and she was practically friends with everyone.

keran stared at the table across them, watching as linfan tried to sneakily steal food from lingzi's box, laughing cutely when the taller girl let out a sigh of exasperation.

"would you chill? i can feel your jealousy radiating off you and i'm trying to eat here," she felt a tug on her shirt, and she turned to see nine one looking pointedly at the bottle she was holding in her hand.

keran had been gripping it so hard it was squashed flat. she threw it into the bin nearby with a grimace, turning back to her dorm mate seated next to her.

"i was not jealous," she muttered, poking her fork into one of her sausages, even thought she didn't feel like eating. nine one raised her eyebrow, but said nothing more.

after dance practice had ended, it was already 1 am when keran returned to her dorm, tired and moody. she opened the door, expecting her roommates to be fast asleep. nine one's bed was empty, but there was a particular someone sitting on her bed, staring at her.

"why did you come back so late?" linfan asked as keran shrugged off her coat, picking up her towel to get ready to shower.

"i was practicing, obviously." the reply came out harsher than she had meant it to, and keran saw how linfan's face fell. her chest tightened from the look on her face. she had never seen linfan look so hurt by anything she had said before.

she stood in the shower, water dripping down her face as she closed her eyes. these few days had been hectic as always, filming, practicing, exercising, and she had no time to think about her feelings lately.

she began to realise that linfan was always on her mind, and she would often get jealous when she spent time with her other friends, although she chose to pretend like it didn't affect her.

linfan was hyper, energetic most of the time, and keran found it hard to keep up with her enthusiasm on days when she was exhausted. she would then snap at linfan who didn't seem to mind, instead graciously giving her time and space to calm down.

however, keran seemed to have taken it for granted and forgot that linfan had feelings too. she turned off the tap, sighing as she put on her pajamas. this show was affecting her, and not in a good way.

by the time she stepped out of the bathroom, keran had expected the younger to be asleep, but she was greeted by the sight of linfan curled up in her bed, scribbling something in the diary the staff gave them to fill in every day.

"aren't you going to sleep?" the older asked hesitantly, unsure if linfan was upset by her words earlier.

"i was waiting for you," linfan answered softly, glancing up at her. at that moment, keran's heart melted. she hadn't expected those words to come out of linfan's mouth, especially with the way she was looking at keran.

"oh," she murmured, cheeks flushing red. "sorry about earlier."

linfan shook her head with a small smile, "its fine, i understand. you need more sleep."

keran climbed the ladder up to her bed and linfan rolled over to give her space. there was silence as keran reached over to turn off the lights. it wasn't uncommon for them to share a bed, but it was the first time since they had arrived in guangzhou for the show.

"goodnight, keke," linfan whispered as she snuggled beside the older.

keran couldn't fight the smile on her face even though she knew linfan couldn't see it in the dark. "goodnight, fanfan."


	4. extra #1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was just inspired by sun rui's dance video on her weibo

"lu keran! lu keran! lu keran!" the trainees watching enthusiastically cheered as the five performing trainees stood in front, preparing to perform. as the show had to stop filming for a month due to the pandemic, the trainees found different ways to pass their time.

it had been jiaqi who had opened a dance class, inviting those who wanted to learn how to dance better to practice with her. everyone had thought it would be fun to have mini group battles, and so picked their groups and songs. keran was in a group with aurora, sun rui, jiaqi and gia, who she was pretty close with.

out of the corner of her eye, she could see linfan smiling at her, with those puppy eyes that she could never say no to. maybe she would put in the slightest more effort for this performance.

in the middle of the dance, keran found herself standing in front of the younger. she grinned smugly as she got down on her knees, purposely moving towards linfan.

linfan blushed, but she still continued to yell her name. their hands brushed against each other and keran smiled before turning back to finish the dance.

after everyone had performed, keran's group was voted the best, with yuxin's one finishing a close second. yuxin walked over to flash a brief smile at her. "you were really good today."

"you too," keran's face coloured, excited that yuxin had praised her. despite having been in the same group as her for a performance, the eve, she still got shy around her. yuxin was basically perfect- she could sing, dance, rap and was charming.

she sighed, watching her head back to the dorms with the rest of the trainees as linfan came up to her.

"what was that?" linfan asked, eyebrows furrowed. she had seen them talking but had no clue why keran had suddenly turned red. it annoyed her mildly, but she would never admit it.

"can you believe it? yuxin complimented me," the older jumped up and down in excitement, unable to control her happiness.

"i can compliment you too," linfan sulked, not liking the way keran was fangirling over yuxin.

keran chuckled as she ruffled the younger's hair affectionately before throwing her arm around her shoulder. "don't be jealous, fanfan, i like your compliments the most," she teased.

linfan tried to supress her smile to no avail. god, what was lu keran doing to her?


End file.
